Bali intelligence inquiry under way

With a Senate inquiry under way tonight into intelligence before the Bali bombings, Prime Minister John Howard has urged Australians to believe the Government had no warnings of the attacks.

The Senate committee will hear evidence first from ASIO head Dennis Richardson.

In a written submission, ASIO says it placed Indonesia on high alert a year before the bombings, but received no specific intelligence beforehand.

Mr Howard says the Government would have acted if it had any idea about what was ahead.

"We didn't have any warning of the Bali attack, please believe that," he said.

"Do you think if we had warning of it we would have done nothing about it?

"We didn't and all Australians should understand that."

Canadian travel advice

Mr Howard has accused Labor of misrepresenting the truth over travel advisories issued by the Federal Government before the Bali bomb attacks.

In Parliament, Labor's Kevin Rudd has used Canadian travel advice to try to press the point the Government should have warned the Australian public.

"Is the Prime Minister aware that the Canadian Government released a travel bulletin on 4 October 2001, 'that the situation in Bali could change and we are advising Canadians not to travel there'?" he said.

However, Mr Howard says the Canadian bulletin was withdrawn four days later and changed to say services in Bali are operating normally, which is the same advice the Australian Government had issued.

Mr Howard accused the Opposition of manipulating the Canadian advice to gain a political advantage and he blamed Labor leader Simon Crean.

"[He] must have sanctioned this question, that such a misrepresentation would be made in the house, and I think the member for Griffith owes this house an apology and I hope he's man enough to give it," he said.

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